Photo taken on June 20, 2019 shows the night view of Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan. (File photo: Xinhua)

TAIPEI, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Banks in Taiwan reported a year-on-year profit reduction of 44 percent in March and 16.9 percent in the first quarter, the biggest ever, according to the island's financial regulatory agency.

Banks across the island gained a profit of 18.2 billion new Taiwan dollars (about 607 million U.S. dollars) in March and 80.95 billion new Taiwan dollars in the first quarter, the agency said in a press release.

While the banks' headquarters and branches inside Taiwan reported a profit reduction of 19.7 percent year on year in the first quarter, their branches on the mainland saw a profit growth of 12.2 percent, the statement said.

It attributed the significant reduction to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused turbulence in international financial markets.

Meanwhile, the interest rate cuts in Taiwan also caused profit losses for banks, the agency said.